Divine Gift

South Coast, Serpent Island.

The Dragonhead Warship docked near Soren's former stronghold. In the distance, the remnants of the great fire on Serpent Island could be seen; the entire camp had been reduced to ashes. Near the dock, masts stood erect, with what appeared to be things hanging from them, swaying in the howling sea wind. Large flocks of seabirds gathered near the dock, and as the Warship approached, they were startled into flight, scattering in all directions to reveal the corpses hanging from the masts.

They were all Soren's men.

When Serpent Island fell, these people became prisoners and were then hanged on these masts by the men of Pirate King Asroder.

This was not only an attempt to establish authority, but also a provocation against Soren.

"Your Throat Cutter Slitter!"

When he saw the corpses of his men hanging one by one from the mast, left to be pecked at by seabirds, Scarface's expression became agitated again. His face twisted into a ferocious grimace, his eyes bloodshot and red, displaying an expression of ravenous hunger.

Soren patted him on the shoulder to comfort him, then said in a deep voice, "Send a team to bring the bodies down for burial. We will make them pay."

"!"

"Heading to Port Tyler"

Just as Soren was preparing to lead his fleet to Port Tyler, a strange wailing sound suddenly came from the nearby seabed.

Soren seemed to sense something!

As if something was calling to him, he immediately waved for the others to stop, and then jumped into the sea with a splash.

There are many things beneath the azure Seawater.

Because of the great battle, many shipwrecks could be seen on the seabed, but the thing that called to Soren was deep in the ocean, and that feeling was somewhat familiar to him.

"That's it!"

Soren finally saw the creature calling to him, the mutated Mutated Killer Whale he had subdued and was now controlling. Part of its body was already rotting, with numerous wounds on its abdomen. The decaying flesh attracted many marine creatures, and a spear was even inserted near its chest cavity.

With injuries like that, it should have died long ago!

Soren noticed that large chunks of flesh had been sheared off its side. Whether due to mutation or something else, it retained an astonishing regenerative ability; even with the wounds largely rotting, it still maintained a faint Hit Points force. Many ships sank nearby, including medium-sized Warship. It was clear that Pirate King Asroder had paid a heavy price to deal with it; killing such Ocean Behemoth in the vast ocean was no easy feat.

As Soren drew closer, the call grew fainter.

The Killer Whale's body was mostly submerged in the sand and rocks, and its body was covered with various marine parasites, some of which had even burrowed into its flesh.

These injuries are too serious!

Unless a high-ranking priest casts Greater Restoration, it is virtually impossible to save it.

Soren quickly approached the Killer Whale. He drew his Scimitar and cut the arrows in half, then gritted his teeth and pulled out the spear near its chest. He then poured several vials of Healing Potion into its mouth. The Healing Potion were too weak; as a mutated marine creature, the Killer Whale possessed astonishing Hit Points, and conversely, the amount of recovery needed to heal it was even more staggering.

Damn it!

As Soren pulled out the deadly spear, large gushes of blood gushed out, and the Mutated Killer Whale's breath grew weaker and weaker.

Without a high-ranking priest, no one could do anything about this injury!

It had been holding on for a very long time, and there was no way to heal it under these circumstances. Even with its enormous size, Soren couldn't transport it back to Port Tyler. Any slightly strenuous activity could kill it.

"Damn Asroder!"

A fierce killing intent flashed in Soren's eyes. He slowly drew his Scimitar and walked expressionlessly to the Mutated Killer Whale. The underwater world was dark, and the Icetail glowed faintly due to the cold temperature. Soren knelt down and gently stroked its head, then slowly said, "Rest in peace..."

Such an injury.

Making it keep struggling is torture; it's better to give it a break now.

Clang!

Soren raised his Scimitar, but instead of lowering it, he stopped it about ten centimeters above the blade.

Because a row of information appeared in front of him.

"Divinity activated!..."

"The target creature's attitude towards you is fanatical (loyal), triggering the conditions for Divinity Grace, automatically granting you the new ability [Divine Gift]!..."

"Faint Divinity has been activated!..."

"Partial Deity data attribute conversion in progress!... Target does not possess Divine Rank!... Deity data conversion failed!..."

A strange piece of information appeared.

Soren instantly stopped his Scimitar and opened the data page to examine the strange information that had suddenly appeared.

"Divine Gift [Talent Ability]: You can Divine Gift a target, greatly enhancing their strength and transforming them into Divine Being. After the Divine Gift is completed, the target will establish a mental connection with you, with an effect at least equivalent to Suggestion. You will also be able to influence or even manipulate the target's will. Under the Divine Gift, you can use the target as a temporary host, as your mortal Avatar [requires Deity Form]."

[Note: Because you are not in Deity Form, you can only bestow Divinity upon those who fanatically worship you!]

Divinity?!

Soren's expression showed a hint of shock, then as if he had thought of something, a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

"The Chosen? The Avatar?"

Soren glanced at the dying Mutated Killer Whale before him, his expression momentarily hesitant, but he quickly placed his hand on its head. Divinity is a powerful force; Deity can bestow a portion of their Divine Power and Divine Gift their followers. These individuals who wield Deity power are the legendary Chosen and Avatar. This bestowal doesn't necessarily have to occur among followers, as Goria's mother was able to suddenly advance to the Legendary Witch because she received Divine Gift Succubus Queen.

This is a very powerful ability!

Because once you accept power from the Deity, you are essentially branded with a mark.

This can be seen in the children of the Fear God Child, because they did not actively receive the Divine Gift, but the will of the Demon Lord of Fear had a huge influence on them. If they had actively received the gift of Divine Power, the final result would most likely have been that they would have been transformed into fanatical believers in the Deity!

--"Divine Gift!"

A strange light appeared in Soren's eyes, and the surrounding space seemed to distort slightly. He appeared enveloped in Divinity power, looking like a god looking down upon the mortal Deity. As his palm pressed against the Mutated Killer Whale, a trace of Divinity power seeped into its body and soul. Immediately afterward, Soren established a faint Telepathic Bond. It felt like telepathy; he could switch his consciousness to the Mutated Killer Whale before him at any time.

He could even temporarily use its field of vision if he wanted!

"Avatar are the eyes of the Deity!"

As Soren channeled 1 point of Divine Rank into the Mutated Killer Whale before him, astonishing changes began to occur. Its weak heartbeat gradually became strong and powerful, and its decaying body was rejuvenated with amazing Hit Points. Some of its injuries began to Regeneration, and the Mutated Killer Whale, which had been on the verge of death, struggled to swim as if in a final burst of energy, and then opened its mouth to swallow a piece of marine life that had been attracted by its flesh and blood.

1 point of Divine Rank.

The King of the Swamp probably only has one or two points of Divine Rank.

Despite numerous battles, Soren had only accumulated 12 points of Divine Rank. With the granting of 1 point to the Mutated Killer Whale, his own Divine Rank dropped to 11. However, this single point of Divine Rank had a Divinity effect. The Mutated Killer Whale seemed to have its appetite awakened, frantically devouring the fish in the nearby waters. Simultaneously, through the mental control granted by Soren's Divine Gift, it expressed a joy akin to that of rebirth!

As a non-intelligent species, the Mutated Killer Whale's resistance to Divinity is quite weak.

Soren can even control its consciousness!

The Mutated Killer Whale was feeding voraciously, its massive body moving like a shadow on the seabed, while opening its blood-red mouth to swallow large numbers of fish.

Divine Gift is like injecting a qualitative change into a quantitative change.

Soren could sense that this Mutated Killer Whale was gradually evolving into a Ocean Behemoth. As Divine Being, it had skipped the threshold of mutation; all it needed now was to accumulate numbers.

This feeding period will likely last for several days!

Soren could sense the mad thirst within it; a sliver of Divinity had fundamentally altered it, and this thirst would linger over it until it further mutated into Ocean Behemoth.

A figure emerged from the seabed.

Soren lightly leaped onto the deck of the Dragonhead Warship. He glanced at the massive shadow on the seabed and said in a deep voice, "Depart! Towards Port Tyler!"

One point of Divinity completely changed the Destiny of that Mutated Killer Whale.

This also allowed Soren to access a more mysterious realm, the realm of the Deity. Although he, possessing Faint Divinity, could not bestow Divine Power like the Deity, he could, like the High-tier Demon Devil in the Abyss and the Baator Hell, Divine Gift his target, thereby influencing or even controlling the target's will.

(P. S.: The next chapter will conclude this volume.) (To be continued~^~)